Chrono Cross just celebrated its 22th anniversary on November 18. The legendary JRPG and sequel to Chrono Trigger was released in 1999 on PS1. Now, it looks like Square Enix is working on a remaster for modern platforms: Switch, PS4, Xbox, PC.
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Is the Chrono Cross Remaster real
As spotted by WCCF Tech, on the latest episode of The Xbox Era Podcast, Shpeshal Nick, who previously leaked accurate projects, said a Chrono Cross Remaster is coming to modern platforms.
Furthermore, Chrono Cross was also included in the “Nvidia leak†that happened in September 2021. A list of games possibly planned for the NVidia GeForce NOW service surfaced, and it included several Square Enix titles: Chrono Cross Remaster, Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre remasters. FF VII Remake, FF IX Remake, and FF XVI.
Final Fantasy IX remake definitely makes it feel like this is a simple placeholders list, but that's the sole weird game on it. Everything else seems credible. Certain games on the list like the Actraiser Remake were actually released as well. Square Enix has always regularly published remasters. To the point that the current producer of the Tales of series said Square Enix is an inspiration and Tales of needs more remasters too.
However, it's also important to note that Square Enix' remasters and ports are often from being perfect. The latest example being Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster and its horrible font. That was thankfully fixed by ingenious fan Scott White. Hopefully, this possible Chrono Cross Remaster won't suffer from major issues.
I will fight anyone who claims Chrono Cross wasn't as good as Chrono Trigger
Chrono Cross had a dream team behind it, as much as the original Chrono Trigger on Super Nintendo. Assuming the remaster is real, it'll be interesting to see if any of the original staff will be working on it. Perhaps adding additional content.
Chrono Cross was written by Masato Kato, the writer of Chrono Trigger, Radical Dreamers, and a bit of Xenogears (which already shared a lot of Chrono Trigger's staff). The music, a HUGE part of Chrono Cross, was handled by Yasunori Mitsuda, who is currently one of the main composers of the Xenoblade series.
The original character design of Chrono Cross was handled by Nobuteru Yuki, the character designer of Escaflowne. Which is an incredible anime part of what you could call the "true Isekai genre". It'd definitely be great if Nobuteru Yuki made a new illustration for the remaster. Art director Yasuyuki Honne also later worked on Baten Kaitos, like many of the developers from Chrono Cross. He's now part of Monolith Soft, working on the Xenoblade series.
Masato Kato is currently working on Another Eden
Both Yasunori Mitsuda and Masato Kato are currently working on mobile JRPG Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space. Masato Kato is the director and writer of the game.
Wright Flyer Studios, one of the best mobile JRPG developers out there, is developing Another Eden. WFS did the new Slime Isekai Memories gacha, are working on Key and Jun Maeda's new promising mobile JRPG: Heaven Burns Red. The game had over three live streams so far, introducing its gameplay, story, and hilarious characters. I'd be writing about it all day if time permitted.
When Square Enix could reveal and release Chrono Cross Remaster, predictions
If Square Enix plans to reveal Chrono Cross Remaster in 2021, the best moment would be The Game Awards 2021 on December 9. I'd bet on a release in time for Christmas, or in early 2022.
Chrono Trigger already received a Nintendo DS port, first released on November 20, 2008. More recently, Square Enix ported Chrono Trigger to PC via Steam. And while that port was laughable at first, patches fixed it over time. So it wouldn't be surprising to see Chrono Cross back on Steam at the very least. The PSN for PS3 and PSP also had Chrono Cross on it.
Both Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are inseparable story-wise and a set. Fans haven't forgotten about Chrono Cross over the years. They made a special album for the 20th anniversary in 2019.